Tenant Leaders Accused of Stealing From Association Account

Two tenant leaders of a city-owned Bronx building were charged by the Bronx DA today with stealing thousands of dollars from the building's bank account. Arlether Middleton and Twana Rose served as the president and secretary of a tenants' association in a building that was part of a city program that enables low-income tenants to buy their apartments and eventually convert the building into a co-op. The tenants' association is supposed to manage the building during the conversion process. Instead of doing that, the two tenant leaders -- a father-daughter team -- stole more than $30,000 in rent that was intended for the upkeep of the building, 783 East 168th Street. They then tried to defraud the city by submitting false bank statements and financial reports to city officials, says the city's Department of Investigation.

This wasn't the first time Rose had attempted to defraud the city and her fellow tenants. In 2001, Rose pleaded guilty to charges that she illegally cashed the tenants' association's checks and kept the money for herself. She stole $7,000 and was sentenced to five years' probation.